What you need to know
- Images of a white, all-digital Xbox Series X have leaked via eXputer.
- The low-quality images seem to indicate the console is around the same size as the standard black Xbox Series X, just in a different color and with the disc drive removed.
- An all-digital Xbox Series X was leaked as part of the Microsoft vs. FTC court hearing last year, though the leak (which Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said was outdated) indicated the console would be cylindrical in design.
- Xbox head Sarah Bond previously confirmed that there'd be new hardware announcements later in 2024.
The next Xbox console refresh may have just leaked.
Images shared by eXputer show what appears to be an all-white, all-digital Xbox Series X console. Similar in design to the standard black console, just in a different color and with the disc drive removed, eXputer indicates the internals will be mostly-identical, but with an improved heatsink also included. You can see the (not particularly high-quality) images below:
While the price of this possible all-digital white Xbox Series X is unknown, it stands to reason it would be at least somewhat lower than the normal Xbox Series X thanks to the removal of the disc drive saving a bit in production costs. The Xbox Series X is officially available for $500 in the U.S, though in practice, the console is frequently cheaper and is essentially always in stock at $450 through some retailers.
This opens a question mark as to how the price will compare against the Xbox Series S and especially the Xbox Series S 1TB edition, which are officially sold at $300 and $350, respectively. It's possible that both models would see an official price drop following the introduction of the all-digital Xbox Series X, which eXputer claims is set to be released sometime over the summer period.
Analysis: Take a grain of salt, but it could easily be real
While we can't directly verify this leak just yet and thus recommend some level of skepticism (as you should take by default with any leak) this is very possibly real. The existence of some kind of digital-only Xbox Series X first leaked as part of the Microsoft vs. FTC court hearing back in 2023. That refresh, codenamed "Brooklin" appeared to have a cylindrical design, with documents indicated it would also feature a 2TB internal SSD and upgraded Wi-Fi.
At the time, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that "much has changed" and that the teams would share the "real plans" when ready. With no further details, it wasn't clear what changes he was referring to, as many other things leaked including a roadmap of next-gen features, possible Bethesda Softworks games, and more.
Now, with evidence of this white Xbox Series X, it seems very possible that the current-generation refresh is more limited than originally planned, but we'll have to wait and see. Xbox president Sarah Bond noted during a recent Xbox business event that there'd be "exciting stuff" coming for hardware later in Holiday 2024, which would be after eXputer's given timeline.
One way or another, we should get a clearer picture of what's coming at Microsoft's summer gaming event.